


a study of sorts

by sunkissedcrow



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Character Study, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26139049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunkissedcrow/pseuds/sunkissedcrow
Summary: "Break's over!" Coach Saitou called. "One lap of dolphin dives, and then we'll get to serving practice."Taichi sighed. As he moved to place his water bottle on the floor, his eyes wandered over to Goshiki. It was hard to ignore him when he knew Goshiki was staring.Their gazes met, and a beat passed.Goshiki's eyes suddenly widened, and then he quickly looked away. He seemed to have caught himself.Taichi wiped his mouth. It had already been a week. It probably won't last longer than that.-In which Goshiki stares at Taichi, and Taichi tries to do nothing about it.
Relationships: Goshiki Tsutomu/Kawanishi Taichi, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Shirabu Kenjirou/Tendou Satori
Comments: 6
Kudos: 89





	a study of sorts

**Author's Note:**

> *posts a KawaGoshi fanfic I started three years ago, after being away from the HQ fandom for three years, hoping people are still interested in KawaGoshi*
> 
> *sweats nervously*

Beside him, Kenjirou spoke with feigned nonchalance, "Goshiki's staring at you again."

Tachi glanced at the first year from his peripheral vision, and indeed, Goshiki was staring at him. He looked back down at the water bottle in his hand.

It was a reoccurring phenomenon lately, that was, Goshiki's staring. Ever since the starting order for Inter-High was announced last week—Tachi made the cut with Kenjirou this year—he'd feel the weight of eager brown eyes trying to dissect him. Whenever they were on the same team for practice matches, Goshiki would glance over at him every ten seconds. He had significantly less subtlety than when Taichi tried to get out of cleaning the gym floor. No, when Goshiki stared, he _stared_.

He wore the same expression every time Taichi caught him: an intense frown slash pout, with his lips pressed together to a side, his eyebrows furrowed, eyes squinted like he was trying to activate heat vision and melt Taichi's body. He always looked somewhat ridiculous, just as he did now, standing in a circle across the gym with the second-years he trained with, despite only being a first-year himself.

"Still staring," Kenjirou commented, before raising his water bottle to his mouth. Taichi could see that, so he just hummed in response. Kenjirou scoffed at his noncommittal response with a mouthful of water. He swallowed. "Well, have you figured out why he's doing it?" he asked quietly with just a hint of annoyance. Taichi knew from experience that if Kenjirou could control his infliction of annoyance, it meant he wasn't actually that annoyed at anything.

So Taichi answered honestly. "Not really." Goshiki was still staring. Taichi could feel it even if he wasn't looking.

Kenjirou gave him an unimpressed look. "Did you even try?"

Taichi got as far as shrugging when another voice rang out.

"Oh, Kenjirou-kun, what are you whispering about?" Tendou draped himself over Kenjirou with a teasing grin, turning the shorter boy positively red from the weight of his body and their proximity.

"Nothing of your concern, senpai," Kenjirou muttered, looking away.

"Aw, don't be like that. I have endless amounts of care and love for my kouhai."

"Is that so?"

Their exchange held the attention of the entire gym, bantering and flirting blatantly just like they had been for the past three _months_. Sure, it acted sort of like entertainment during breaks, but it should have led to somewhere by now. Taichi should do something about it. But getting Kenjirou and Tendou together would either be as simple as the English test he had yesterday (it was his best subject) or as laboring as the serving practice Coach made them do.

He wasn't at all tempted to find out which of those would prove to be true.

Taichi should do something about Goshiki's newfound fascination with him too.

He wiped away the sweat gathered on his forehead. He couldn't wait until he could take a nice long shower. By the time practice ended, the bathrooms would mostly be deserted, and he can shower for as long as he wanted.

"Do you plan to place yourself in everyone's business then?" He heard Kenjirou asked Tendou.

"Only when I can tell what the problem is," Tendou replied. His gaze suddenly turned sharp and moved to meet Taichi's, lips curling into what looked like an innocent smile.

"Break's over!" Coach Saitou called. "One lap of dolphin dives, and then we'll get to serving practice."

Taichi sighed. As he moved to place his water bottle on the floor, his eyes wandered over to Goshiki. It was hard to ignore him when he knew Goshiki was staring.

Their gazes met, and a beat passed.

Goshiki's eyes suddenly widened, and then he quickly looked away. He seemed to have caught himself.

Taichi wiped his mouth. It had already been a week. It probably won't last longer than that.

He was right.

He didn't feel the weight of brown eyes on him during practice for the next three days. When he looked over at Goshiki to check, sure enough, the younger boy was no longer looking at him. Kenjirou didn't point out any staring, and they reverted back to their usual quiet conversations. Which, of course, consisted of Kenjirou' complaining' about this thing Tendou had done and how ‘annoying’ he found it.

Said three days was actually very mundane. Only two memorable things happened. The first one was the 95 he scored on an English Test from the day before. He shouldn't be surprised because it was his best subject after all, but he still felt satisfied with the result. The second was that he ran out of volleyball tape, but he didn't feel like getting a new tape roll from their manager, so he began stealing Kenjirou's roll.

The only time he interacted with Goshiki was when Tendou invited Kenjirou and him to eat lunch with him and Ushijima. Kenjirou would say that they were dragged, but Taichi knew he wanted to be there. Goshiki just so happened to also be there because he was engaged in an unofficial eating contest with Ushijima. Unofficial, since the latter wasn't even aware that Goshiki considered the meal a competition.

At some point, while Kenjirou and Tendou were flirting, as always, Goshiki realized they had joined their table. He had a piece of green onion stuck onto his bottom lip while he stared at Taichi as if he was surprised by his existence outside of the volleyball gym. Taichi didn't even consider dealing with that before he went back to his ramen.

And that was it. When he went to practice on Friday morning, there was no longer a Goshiki Situation for him to consider resolving. Which was why he didn't think much of anything when their coach informed them that Tendou was sick and therefore will not be joining practice today.

"He keeps emailing me saying how he has mono, which I highly doubt," Kenjirou said dryly. Still, Taichi noted a hint of concern under his smoothed-out expression. "He _was_ a little wobbly on his feet last night when he walked me to my dorm…"

He didn't know Tendou's absence would lead to a new Goshiki problem.

"Ushijima-san!" Kenjirou tossed the ball up high. Taichi, along with everyone else in the gym, watched Ushijima jumped for a spike.

The ball slammed down the floor for the third time in a row, earning Shiratorizawa another point.

Taichi knew this wasn't everything, though.

They were playing against the Tohoku University volleyball team today. Although they weren't the strongest in the prefecture, they were still a solid university team. The match proved to be even more challenging since their third-year middle blocker wasn't in the game, so Taichi found himself being the base of defense in this game, a role he wasn't sure he wanted just yet.

This was also their first official practice match in the year with the new starting order, so their coach emphasized how vital today's practice was.

That was the only thing he heard from the coach's spiel today—aside from Tendou's absence—since his mind had drifted off to the song he was playing on the piano yesterday. It was a pop song his roommate showed him recently, which he ended up transcribing onto the piano after finishing his homework at night.

He was focused on the game, though. He knew Ushijima was performing at his usual peak, and that raised their morale despite missing Tendou. Yamagata, the other new addition to the starting order besides Taichi and Goshiki, supported them with steady receives on the court. Kenjirou's tosses were clean, and he wasn't getting agitated by Tohoku yet, which was good. There was only one person who Taichi knew was having a little trouble today, and he was standing next to him.

Although Goshiki was no longer staring at him, he drew Taichi's attention to him today with all his eagerness and need for approval.

And without Tendou here to dote on him… He was even more eager to prove himself, and that came with consequences.

"Goshiki!"

Kenjirou set the ball for Goshiki, a similar toss to the one he set to Ushijima only a little lower. Taichi knew Goshiki didn't like that, though; he wanted to think he was on the same level as their super ace in every way.

Goshiki licked his lip with anticipation before doing a run-up. He spiked the ball down, but it was received by Tohoku again. He let out an incoherent noise when he landed on the ground, clutching his head like that would somehow solve the problem. Most of Goshiki's spikes today were either easily received by the other team or out of bounds.

Tohoku's number three spiked the ball towards the center of the court, but Yamagata received it confidently.

Kenjirou shot him a quick look, and he immediately got into position. He jumped, the toss came, and the ball narrowly zoomed through a gap in the block. He and Kenjirou shared a quick high five, and Reon cheerfully gave him a "nice kill." While he was returning to his spot on the court, he caught a glimpse of Goshiki behind him.

The first year was practically vibrating out of his shoes, which wasn't really that odd given his overexcited state today, but he was staring at Taichi. _Again_.

When their eyes met this time, Goshiki visibly deflated. His shoulders drooped down, and his lips curled into a pout. It was kind of cute, yes, but what was going on with him? Goshiki turned away and looked at Kenjirou instead, who paid him absolutely no mind.

A few points later—Ushijima scored one for them while Tohoku scored two—Taichi was switched out of court. As he neared the sidelines, he heard Semi muttered, "what is he doing?" He followed Semi's line of sight found it on Goshiki.

Even from a distance, he could tell Goshiki was antsy. He was getting worked up over something. Judging from the way he kept shooting glances to Kenjirou, Taichi had to assume it was something to do with not getting tosses.

Three points later, he entered the court again. Usually, Tendou would be the one to deal with Goshiki, him being one of the only people on the team who took him seriously, but since he's sick today….

"Goshiki," Taichi said quietly.

The younger boy turned to him with wide eyes. "Yes?"

"Ushijima-san never gets too eager to spike," he said, "because he's confident in his abilities." Goshiki blinked at him blankly, head still tilted to one side. Taichi sighed, eyes drifting off before turning to face the other boy again. "If you want to be respected, don't…act like a crazy idiot."

There was a moment of silence as Goshiki paused like he usually did when he tried to process advice. Then, Goshiki shot up straight like an arrow. "Okay! I'll try!" he shouted.

Everyone stared, of course, including the other team, but Goshiki seemed more focused after that.

The match continued. Taichi got a few more tosses but only scored two of them. Near the end of the game, Kenjirou finally gave a toss to Goshiki, high and clean, the same way he would toss to Ushijima. Goshiki ran up, calm and collected, and slammed the ball straight through the block. When he landed on the floor, he cheered for himself and looked pointedly at Ushijima, as if that spike proved something to him. Ushijima, probably not noticing, said "nice kill" to him anyway. Goshiki's expression morphed into a look of pure triumph and pride.

Kenjirou rolled his eyes, and Taichi wanted to laugh. That thought was cut short when he saw Goshiki out of the corner of his eye. The first year still looked smug, but he looked at Taichi with more of a pensive touch this time.

Taichi turned away. It probably didn't mean anything.

He was staring again.

Goshiki was staring at him again, and it wasn't only during practice now. When he made his regular trips down to the snack shop this week, he spotted Goshiki very obviously standing by the nearby staircase; his bowl-cut and choppy bangs were pretty hard to miss. Taichi still wasn't sure whether he insisted on maintaining the haircut or not, since Goshiki lived for getting attention and approval from people he respected. He still looked handsome, but it was…a distinct hairstyle. 

He considered himself lucky that Goshiki hadn't found out he went to the music room on the days they didn't have practice and just play the piano for a couple of hours. He reveled in those quiet sessions since he lived in a boarding school full of people. He was not looking forward to having those ruined.

At least Goshiki's gaze was less intense whenever they were on the same team together now. The young ace had his priorities straight. But when they were on opposite teams, he felt Goshiki's eyes on him every second. In every play he was reading, he would see Goshiki's sights on him.

Nevertheless, Taichi was finding the staring increasingly distracting. It was relatively easy to ignore in the beginning since it only took place during practice. Still, there was no doubt that _something_ was going on with Goshiki. What problem did he have with Taichi?

Kenjirou placed his lunch tray on the cafeteria table. "He's been asking Tendou about you," he said.

"And how do you know what Goshiki's been asking Tendou," Taichi inquired casually, scooping up a clump of rice with his chopsticks.

Kenjirou spluttered as he sat down. "That's not—Taichi, not the _point_ ," he said, and Taichi smirked. "He's staring at you, and he's asking about you."

"You seem a lot more concerned about this than me," Taichi said, continuing to eat his lunch. "We're marked when we're playing volleyball all the time. People staring is hardly an issue."

Kenjirou shot him a look. "If Tendou figures out what's going on with Goshiki—"

"—which he probably will," Taichi added.

"—he'll do something about it soon," Kenjirou finished. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay with Tendou's meddling?"

If Tendou meddled, Taichi might not need to figure this out by himself. After Tendou interfered in the great Semi-Shirabu conflict of last year, practices became a lot easier to endure without the two setters basically shooting daggers at each other with their eyes and also their serves. Semi's serve at least.

"Sure," he finally answered. He took account of how Kenjirou's frown deepened and slipped a piece of fried chicken into his mouth.

"Really?"

Taichi swallowed. "Tendou-senpai clearly enjoys meddling and getting into someone else's business," he said, "why would I deprive him of his opportunity to mentor his kouhai?" He ate another piece of rice.

Kenjirou grumbled something about how he shouldn't give Tendou the chance to be nosy but didn't protest his answer. He started carefully loading his spoon with a string of udon.

"My, my Kenjirou-kun—" Kenjirou paused, spoon halfway to his mouth. "You chose meal B, just as I expected." Tendou appeared behind him with an identical bowl of udon sitting on his lunch tray.

 _Speak of the devil_ , Taichi thought to himself. Did Tendou's guessing power extend to guessing when others talked about him too?

"Senpai," Kenjirou greeted Tendou without turning around. He swallowed his spoon of udon and picked up another piece of udon again.

"Tendou-senpai," Taichi said, "care to join us?"

At his invitation, Kenjirou's eyes shot up to meet his. _What are you doing_ , his eyes seemed to scream.

 _What you secretly want to do_ , Taichi tried to scream back, even though he knew his eyes probably didn't show as much fervor as Kenjirou's. His friend can be so tense sometimes.

"Don't mind if I do, Taichi-kun," Tendu replied with a grin, happily drawing a seat next to Kenjirou.

 _As_ I _expected_ , Taichi thought in amusement.

"I hope you don't mind if I bring a guest too," Tendou said, folding his long limbs into the plastic cafeteria chair. "He's still getting his meal, and I told him I'll grab a seat for us first."

"Oh, Ushijima-senpai coming?" Kenjirou asked.

Tendou slurped at his udon, splashing soup onto his face. "Nope." Kenjirou's eyes focused on the droplets of soup on Tendou's nose, udon momentarily forgotten. "Guess again, Kenjirou-kun," Tendou cooed. He placed an arm above the back of Kenjirou's chair and smiled.

Kenjirou scoffed, moving slightly—only very slightly—away from Tendou. "He's going to come any minute anyway."

"Se-senpai!"

Goshiki, clutching his lunch tray with entirely too much force, stood behind Kenjirou. His eyes were wide and stern—standard for Goshiki—and his cheeks were lightly dusted with pink again. "I'm coming to join you for lunch!" He came forward near the chair on the other side of Kenjirou, paused, and quickly walked to Taichi's side and sat across Tendou.

"Oh, I see that you also got the fried chicken set, Tsutomu-kun," Tendou said with an unnecessarily knowing smile. "We have two matching sets here at this table!"

Taichi surveyed the table. Sure enough, six pieces of lightly over-fried chicken sat on Goshiki’s blue-colored tray. The only difference between their meals is that Goshiki had two bowls of rice instead of one and a small carton of milk.

"Nice choice, Goshiki," Taichi said, turning back to his plate. He could feel the boy's gaze on him, but he pushed past it.

"Please don't align yourself with me, senpai," Kenjirou said to Tendou, continuing to eat his udon.

"It's called an observation, Kenjirou-kun," Tendou replied, tone dripping with condescension. Kenjirou looked close to either pushing his face into his bowl of udon or brushing the drop of soup off Tendou's nose. "You don't have to align yourself with me if you don't want to."

Kenjirou's face instantly went red, but he carried on and swallowed his spoon of udon anyway. "Don't be stupid."

Okay, Taichi needed to do something about this first. The Goshiki problem can come later. "Tendou-senpai, you seem to be feeling much better this week," he said.

"Indeed, I have," Tendou responded, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Taichi did not miss the way Kenjirou bit his lip, nor did Tendou, it seemed because the older boy only smirked. "Wakatoshi gave me some supplements, and they helped with my recovery."

"It was just a cold anyway," Kenjirou mumbled.

Taichi made a show of raising his eyebrows in faux shock and received a glare in return.

"Wakatoshi-senpai takes supplements?" Goshiki asked, eyes shining with curiosity.

"Yep," Tendou confirmed, "he has a whole stash of them in his room. Gifts from his dad, he told me."

"You've been in his room?" Goshiki squeaked.

"He sleeps with a volleyball," Tendou said with a wink. "Maybe you should do that, Goshiki-kun."

"Oh my god," Kenjirou said.

Tendou shushed him with a finger. "I'm giving advice to our eager kouhai." Kenjirou batted his finger away. "You two should try it," Tendou continued, giving Taichi a _look_.

At Tendou's suggestion, Kenjirou found himself under the keen eyes of Goshiki. His scowl deepened for a beat before he sighed. "Sometimes you jump too early," he said, and promptly returned to his udon.

Goshiki looked a little dejected, probably because what Kenjirou said wasn't exactly a piece of advice but an incomplete review of his performance.

Taichi expected the topic to change, but Goshiki was now looking at him with an expression he couldn't name. Uncertainty with a hint of expectation?

"Oh," he said, "Uh."

"You can do it, Taichi-kun," Tendou said. Absolutely unhelpful.

Taichi furrowed his eyebrows. "Try to keep another hobby to balance your life," he finally said. Goshiki's eyebrows knit themselves together. "It might end up helping you play," he added, seeing Goshiki's confusion.

"Oh? What's your other hobby, Taichi-kun?" Tendou asked, head tilted to one side.

"Music," Taichi answered. "I play the piano."

Tendou clapped. "I never would have guessed that," he said in wonderment. "I suppose that's why your timing is always impeccable. You've got rhythm."

The weight of Goshiki's gaze on him was making him sweat. It felt like he desperately wanted to hear his answer.

"Yeah, maybe," Taichi said, meeting the younger boy's gaze.

Goshiki was wearing an expression that Taichi rarely saw. His eyebrows, though still drawn together, were soft over thinking eyes. Instead of pouting, he had the left side of his bottom lip between his teeth. Taichi didn't know Goshiki could look like that. He certainly didn't look that during volleyball practice or matches.

"Kenjirou also plays a little," he said to Tendou and plopped a few bites of rice into his mouth.

"Really, Kenjirou-kun?" Tendou leaned closer.

The tips of Kenjirou's ears turned pink. He was actively avoiding Tendou's eyes. "Not as well as Taichi," he quickly said.

"And how good is Taichi-kun?"

"Grade 7."

Tendou whistled. "Very impressive."

"It's okay," Taichi said with a shrug. He wanted to take the Grade 8 test soon. He just needed to find the time to study the compulsory pieces.

Tendou hummed. "And Taichi-kun is also good at English, right?"

Taichi narrowed his eyes. Tendou seemed awfully interested in his life today. "Did Kenjirou tell you that?" His friend coughed from across the table. "I'm okay at English."

"You don't give yourself a lot of credit, do you, Taichi-kun?"

Taichi sighed. "It's my best subject."

"Good to know!" Tendou said, for whatever reason. "You learned a lot about your two senpai today, Tsutomu-kun?

Goshiki nodded vigorously, and Taichi frowned.

"Senpai, your udon is going to go cold if you continue drilling Taichi like this."

"Aww, Kenjirou-kun, you're worried about my food."

"I'm worried about Taichi."

Next to him, Goshiki had a piece of rice stuck to the corner of his mouth. Taichi's eyes lingered there a second. "Goshiki," he said. When the younger boy looked at him, he gestured to the side of his own mouth.

"Oh! Thank you, senpai!"

Volleyball practice that night was as regular as it could get, excluding Goshiki's staring, of course. Maybe Taichi had gotten used to it, but it felt a little intense tonight. He later realized that it was because Goshiki began staring at him less. It was only a little less, but there were a few times when Taichi's gaze drifted to where Goshiki was, and the younger wasn't even looking at him.

Taichi considered this development. Whatever Goshiki's problem was with him, it seemed to be going away after that odd lunch they had. It can only go better from here. He was sure that Goshiki would return to giving him the regular amount of attention soon.

He was blindsided by Tendou the next day.

"Oh, Taichi-kun," Tendou sang. He placed his hands on top of Taichi's shoulders from behind. "How's my kouhai doing today?"

"Good?" Tachi ventured. "How's senpai?"

"Hm, very good," he replied in a tone that was entirely too ominous for Taichi's liking. "Let's go to the snack shop together."

Taichi didn't bother to think about how Tendou knew where he was headed. Maybe Taichi was too predictable. Maybe Tendou was the one who told Goshiki about his regular trips down to get a snack. Taichi might as well take the opportunity to grill Tendou about Kenjirou—

"So, how are you doing with Tsutomu-kun these days?"

Of course, the guess monster beat him to it.

"I'm doing good with Goshiki-kun," Taichi answered, whatever that meant. "Why do you ask?"

Tendou chuckled. "Our little first year is excited to learn about his fellow regulars," he explained. "He seemed to have taken an extra liking to you."

Tachi frowned. His ears felt hot for some reason. It was the way Tendou phrased it, he decided. _Taken an extra liking to you_. "I wouldn't describe like it," he muttered.

"Hm? How would you describe it then?"

Incessant staring? Misplaced curiosity? Just kind of really odd?

"He…seems to be confused by me," he admitted. When Tendou only chuckled at his response, he twitched. "Do you know something I don't, senpai?" he asked.

"Well, how do you feel about him?" Tendou asked.

 _That_ was a good question.

He pictured Goshiki in his mind. His choppy bangs, stern eyes, and confident smile. How he was too ambitious to have self-awareness sometimes. How he declared Ushijima-senpai to be his enemy only to have the gentle third-year shrug and turn away. How he looked in midair, arm pulled back to spike the ball with all his might.

How soft, and good, he looked that day in the cafeteria

"Not much," he said. Yet.

"'Yet,' huh?" Tendou repeated.

Taichi's eyes widened. He had said that out loud.

"We're both regulars now," he added quickly. He didn't like the tone of Tendou's voice and the way he was smiling at Taichi like he knew exactly what was going on in his mind.

Tendou stopped walking, pulling Taichi to a stop as well. "It was nice talking to you, Taichi-kun," he said, still sporting that knowing smile. He gave Taichi's shoulders a pat and then bounced away. "I'll see you at practice later!"

Taichi stared after him. They had arrived at the snack store. The clerk was looking at him expectantly. Recess was going to end in ten minutes. He didn't get to talk to Tendou about Kenjirou. Tendou didn't even buy anything.

Taichi should ready himself for some of Tendou's meddling.

Contrary to his expectation, Tendou did not, in fact, start meddling. At least for now.

He did, however, start singing a tune that Taichi didn't recognize every time they were together. He hummed it when they're near each other on the court. He sang it under his breath as he collected stray volleyballs after practice. He whistled it while the team made their way to their respective dormitories after practice.

The song sounded familiar, but Taichi couldn't put his finger on it. It was probably something popular on the radio these days. The chord progressions sounded western, so it might be an English song.

He swore he heard the English words for 'like' once, and then something about looking, feeling, and maybe a boat? Taichi didn't want to be mean, but Tendou-senpai's English really wasn't all that good.

It eventually became stuck in his head. Taichi replayed the little bits he knew during class, during stretches, and late at night while his roommate slept soundly from across the room.

It made him want to kill Tendou.

Tendou was humming the song now, in the locker room, while they're all changing into training clothes for practice.

Kenjirou was talking to him about something that happened in class, but it was so difficult to focus on anything when Tendou was still singing that _damn song._ He didn't even have Goshiki in mind because it was so distracting.

He almost missed Kenjirou asking what he was doing after class tomorrow.

"I might go to the music room," he said. "I have…a song I want to try playing."

"Oh? What is it?"

God, Taichi was going to hate himself for this.

"Tendou-senpai," he said instead.

Tendou leaned back, looking at Taichi with wonder. "Yes?"

Kenjirou shot him a curious look from between them.

Taichi played with the buttons of his shirt. "That song you keep singing… what's the name of it?" he begrudgingly asked.

Tendou bounced closer to him, meaning directly behind Kenjirou, and placed an elbow on Kenjirou's left shoulder. "Caught your attention?"

"Only because you keep humming it, senpai," Taichi replied as politely as he could.

Tendou didn't seem to mind. "It's called—hold on." He reached into his bag and pulled out his phone. "This is the name."

It was an English song by an artist that Taichi wasn't familiar with. He wasn't sure how to pronounce the artist's name actually, since it didn't look like it was a word. He memorized the name of the song anyway.

"Thanks, senpai," he said with a nod. He turned away and start unbuttoning his uniform shirt.

"I need to change for practice, Tendou-senpai, can you get off me now?" Kenjirou said.

Tendou tsked. "That's only because you've been too busy talking to Taichi there," he said, waggling his finger at the both of them.

"Don't bring me into this," Taichi said automatically, shrugging off his school shirt. He grabbed the gray t-shirt in his locker and turned away from Kenjirou, but not after slipping him the smallest smirk. He didn't even need to look to know his friend was seething at his' betrayal.'

What he didn't anticipate when he turned was looking straight at where Goshiki was standing.

Having shed his shirt, the cold air prickled at his bare skin as he stood still, caught in the way Goshiki was openly staring at him with wide eyes and even wider mouth. Taichi didn't know it was possible, but Goshiki had reached a new level of obvious.

So Taichi made the first move. He shoved his arms through the sleeves of his shirt before ducking his head through the neck hole. When he looked up at Goshiki again, the younger boy was still staring, but there was something different this time.

A full blush had emerged on Goshiki. Pink peeked out from the collar of his loose black t-shirt. A second later, he must have realized how his body reacted because he instantly went from endearingly flustered to looking constipated.

Taichi blinked.

"Excuse me, senpai!" Goshiki shouted. Next thing Taichi knew, Goshiki was out of the door with the other first years.

Well, that sorted itself out.

"What did you say to him?" Kenjirou asked behind him.

He turned back to his locker, noticing the distinct lack of Tendou next to Kenjirou. "Nothing," he replied, finding his volleyball shorts at the bottom of his locker. "What did you say to get rid of Tendou?"

Kenjirou huffed. "Yeah, well," he started and then pursed his lips. "He listens sometimes."

"Oh, he listens, doesn't he?"

"Shut up, Taichi."

Just as he told Kenjirou, he went to the music room the next evening.

He downloaded the song onto his phone and played it repeatedly last night. He understood enough of the lyrics to know that it was about two people wanting to start a relationship together but were waiting for something to happen.

Taichi wondered if Tendou knew what the song meant and how incredibly applicable it was to him and Kenjirou. But why was he singing it near Taichi? Was he secretly telling Taichi about his feelings for Kenjirou and how he wanted his help?

He unlocked the music room with the key he borrowed from his music teacher and turned on the lights. It was a medium-sized room, big enough to hold at least twenty students without feeling cramped. Taichi placed his pen, phone, earphones, and two blank pieces of sheet music paper on one of the desks and slid the door closed.

He walked to the piano, located near an opened window that looked over the school courtyard. He lifted the lid to the keyboard and ran his fingers across the keys, feeling the white keys' smooth and glossy surface.

Pulling out the chair and getting accustomed to where the pedals were, he warmed up by playing a song he knew by heart. It was a song that all piano players learned, difficult enough to sound impressive, but still simple enough to be universally known.

He let his fingers dance lightly across the keys, a smile coming naturally onto his lips. He was told he didn't smile much, even by Kenjirou, who definitely smiled even less than he did. But when he was playing the piano, it was difficult to keep one off his face.

When he finished the song, he let the last note linger for a second longer than scripted in the sheet music before releasing the pedal. He nodded to himself. Time to get down to business.

He grabbed his belongings and placed them on top of the piano. Recalling how the song went in his head, he slowly found the main melody and the accompanying chords. He didn't have perfect pitch, but he musically trained—and inclined—enough to figure out the notes without much problem. Singing the song aloud helped as well, so he mumbled the lyrics from time to time, singing until he found the corresponding note. Whenever he needed a refresher of how the song went, he would plug his earbuds in and play the bit he was stuck on. He tweaked with the song, playing with the chords to match the song's rhythm and feel, and noted down what he liked on the sheet music.

By the time he wrote down how to end the song, nearly two hours had gone by.

Taichi nodded to himself. He put his fingers on the piano, ready to play it a final time to judge the final result when a gust of wind swooped into the room and sent the first sheet of paper flying. He reached out, volleyball reflexes kicking it, and scooped it up into his palm before it hit the ground. As he hoisted himself upwards, he noticed a tuff of black hair at the corner of the window on the door.

Taichi placed the sheet music back on the piano and contemplated his next move.

He probably overheard him tell Kenjirou about going to the music room in the locker room yesterday. Taichi shook his head. That little Goshiki.

He unlocked his phone and started the recording app. He laid his fingers on the keyboard once more, looked at the sheet music in front of him, and let the notes come into life.

Goshiki was gone by the time he came out of the music room. Maybe he scrambled away when he realized Taichi was packing up. Perhaps he became too bored and went to sleep early.

Taichi slid the door close and locked it.

He hoped Goshiki enjoyed the music.

The next day, there was no sign of Goshiki spying on him the previous night. He didn't approach Taichi during practice, and Taichi didn't ask him about it.

Taichi had gotten so used to the staring that he no longer considered it out of the ordinary. Sometimes he met Goshiki's eyes, straight on, head tilted. He himself didn't quite understand why he did this, because all it did so far was make Goshiki freeze and look hesitant suddenly. Taichi was just surprised that Goshiki still hadn't done anything about these moments they now shared. Goshiki had never appeared to be the type to hide. He wore the majority of his emotions, without fail, on his face.

Once, when Taichi found his eyes drawn to the younger boy during Saturday morning practice, he witnessed him go through four different emotions in one conversation with Reon.

It was so amusing that Taichi didn't even know he was smiling until Kenjirou elbowed him and pointed it out.

"Nothing," Taichi said when Kenjirou asked him what was funny.

"You were looking at Goshiki," Kenjirou insisted.

Taichi shrugged. "He looks at me all the time."

Kenjirou frowned. "Yes, and that's a problem." When Taichi didn't respond, he added carefully, "isn't it?"

Taichi didn't respond to that either.

"Are you going to ask Tendou about Goshiki?" Kenjirou asked. His lunch trap dropped onto the table with a light clack.

Taichi looked up from his bowl of ramen. "Why would I do that?"

Kenjirou dropped down into the chair across him. "Because you're staring at him now. When Goshiki started doing that, he went to Tendou to ask about you. Isn't it time to find out why he's looking at you all the time?"

"He'll come to me eventually."

Kenjirou groaned in frustration. "Are you serious?"

Taichi furrowed his eyebrows. "Yes?"

An indignant sound came out of Kenjirou. "You think he'll just come to you and tell you why he's been staring at you?"

"Unlike somebody else on the team," Taichi said, "he's very honest about everything on his mind, which includes his feelings."

Kenjirou just gave him a glare. "This isn't about me, Taichi, it's about you and how you refuse to do anything about your kouhai."

Taichi was getting tired of the same conversation over and over again. "Why do I have to do anything about it? If Goshiki has a problem with me, then he can come to me first. It's not really my problem, is it?"

Kenjirou gritted his teeth. "So you're okay with just leading him on?" he spat.

Taichi paused. "What?"

Kenjirou seemed to have caught himself. He turned away and scrubbed at his face roughly. "Nothing. Forget I said anything," he said quickly.

"Kenjirou," Taichi said, putting a hand between them on the table. "What's going on?"

" _Nothing_."

"Kenjirou."

"Taichi," Kenjirou responded, and Taichi rolled his eyes.

"Come on, what did Tendou do?" he asked.

Kenjirou sulked for a good minute before he broke the silence. "He walked me back to my dorm again last night," he said simply. He fiddled with his spoon, curry rice in front of untouched. "He…I thought…He knows how I feel," he said quietly. "He knows, but he doesn't do a single thing about it. Makes it even worse for me to be around him when he's always touching me and—" Kenjirou cut himself off, his glare basically burning a hole into his lunch tray.

Taichi gave him a moment before he spoke. "Have you ever considered," he began delicately, "that Tendou might feel the same?"

"Yeah, well, why doesn't do anything about it then?" Kenjirou muttered. He shook his head a little before slapping his cheeks lightly with both hands. "Again, not about me. You, Goshiki."

_So you're okay with just leading him on?_

"You think Goshiki likes me?"

Kenjirou pinched the pillar of his nose. "Tendou does," he corrected, "but I guess I kind of see it too."

"He spied on me in the music room last week," Taichi said, and Kenjirou's jaw dropped.

"He really does go all out," he sighed.

Taichi nodded in agreement. He stared at his bowl of ramen. "Fine," he conceded. "I'll talk to him." He was about to dig back into his food again when he saw the dejected expression on Kenjirou's face. His friend was obviously bothered by Tendou, yet he insisted on focusing on Taichi and Goshiki's problem. Did he think solving their issue would somehow affect him and Tendou too?

"Listen to what you preach," Taichi said, "Talk to Tendou."

Kenjirou pouted. "I will."

And Taichi would confront Goshiki—

—when the opportunity presented itself, which it did.

"Melon bun," he said to the snack store clerk, handing him a few coins. As he waited for change, he saw a familiar bowl cut near the eastern stairway again. Goshiki's eyes became doe-like when he spotted Taichi looking back at him. He indiscreetly hid behind the stairway wall.

Taichi rolled his eyes.

"Goshiki-kun," he said when he neared the stairway and found the boy pressed against the wall. The younger visibly looked shocked that he was approached, eyebrows near hidden under his bangs. "Want to talk?"

They sat down under a tree. Since it was their first recess of the day, the sun was still high up in the sky.

Taichi shielded his eyes with a hand as he crossed his legs underneath him. Though he sat facing outwards, Goshiki sat directly towards him.

"Um," Taichi said. "Hi."

Goshiki nodded a few times. "Senpai."

Alright. Taichi popped open the plastic bag containing his melon bun and carefully maneuvered it halfway out the bag. He tore off a small piece and offered it to Goshiki, who immediately shook his head.

"I know this is Kawanishi-senpai's favorite snack," he said, with a hint of…pride? As if he was proud that he knew this fact? "You can keep it!"

"How did you know—" There was no point in asking that question, actually. "I have it all the time," Taichi said slowly. "Their melon buns are one of the best I've had. Have you tried them?"

"Yes," Goshiki answered quickly, "I understand why you like them, senpai. I—" He stopped abruptly.

Taichi could see a flush climbing up from Goshiki's neck. He offered the piece of the bun to the younger boy again, and this time he took it. "What do you like to eat, Goshiki-kun?" he asked politely, tearing off a piece for himself.

"Oh, I don't snack a lot," Goshiki said, rubbing the back of his neck, which is now entirely pink. "My mom is really health-conscious, so we usually don't have snacks at home."

Taichi nodded. "It's not a bad thing," he said. "Keeping healthy."

Goshiki nodded vigorously. "My mom is super supportive of my future career," he revealed. "The night we received news of my volleyball scholarship, she made all my favorite dishes to celebrate. Boiled flounder, sukiyaki, and everything!"

Taichi tore off another piece of his bun. "I like sukiyaki too. What about when you were made a regular?" He gave the piece of bread to Goshiki, who accepted it without question again.

"Boiled flounder, miso eggplant, and soba!" Goshiki bragged, eyes shining. "She made me a medal out of paper too!"

Taichi hummed.

"Senpai…" Goshiki said softly. "You're smiling."

Taichi touched the side of his mouth. He felt a few small crumbs on his lips and— "Oh," he said. "I am."

Goshiki's flush from before had started to fade, but now it was rushing to face again. His cheeks were pink, and Taichi had the impulse to reach out...and do what? "You look…" Goshiki trailed off, eyebrows knitted together but eyes just as determined as usual. "You look nice when you smile!"

Taichi blinked.

"I enjoyed talking to you, senpai!" Goshiki shot up to his feet. "Thanks for the melon bun, and I'll see you at practice tomorrow!"

And then he was gone.

That night, Taichi laid awake in his dorm room.

He stared at the ceiling, replaying what happened with Goshiki that afternoon. The way Goshiki sat close and facing him the second they settled down. They were under the shade of a tree, so little flecks of sunlight shone between the leaves and down to his face, giving him freckles made out of pure energy. Goshiki refused a piece of his melon bun because he knew it was Taichi's favorite. How did he know that anyway? From all the times he stalked Taichi at the snack shop?

Goshiki wore that soft expression when he saw Taichi smiling. It was the same look as when Tendou was digging into Taichi’s interests during that lunch they had together.

He looked cute, Taichi realized. _He looked good_.

The most shocking thing about that realization is that Taichi has had these thoughts before. He offhandedly called Goshiki cute in his mind on the day the future ace was doubting his abilities. He thought he looked adorable at that time he caught him staring in the locker room. He had once told Kenjirou that Goshiki wasn't being annoying, he was just being _cute._ When his roommate asked him about the new recruits on the volleyball team a _month_ ago, he described Goshiki as ambitious and a little too overexcited, but also _handsome_ and _capable_ , without even thinking about it.

There were probably more examples, more than Taichi could count.

He plugged earbuds into his phone and selected the song he transcribed the other night.

The top of Goshiki's bowl came into mind, cut off by the window on the music room's door. He sat on the ground against the door that night and listened to Taichi play the same thing over and over again until the song he heard became notes on a page.

Taichi touched his mouth. He was smiling again.

Goshiki refused to meet his eyes the next day.

Not only that, but he stopped staring at Taichi altogether.

Even when they were on opposite teams during practice and Goshiki had inevitably needed to read and block Taichi's spikes. After Taichi got three spikes past him because Goshiki was actively not looking at him, and the younger boy had to endure Coach Saitou's scolding.

"He had his eyes closed this time, Coach," Kenjirou added.

"No, I didn't!" Goshiki protested, but Coach just shook his head.

"Goshiki-kun," he said. "Do better."

Goshiki shrunk and muttered an affirmative before running back to his position on the court. Since Taichi met him for the first time, Goshiki acted like a shy first year, like an actual newcomer to the Shiratorizawa team. Everyone had been shocked by Goshiki's loud ambition when he first introduced himself to his seniors. Ushijima didn't count, of course. Tendou was more amused than anything, and Kenjirou was unimpressed—okay, the volleyball team didn't react to things correctly.

But.

Taichi felt his legs move towards the net, towards Goshiki, before he even realized it but was promptly stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Say, Tsutomu-kun's having a hard time today," Tendou murmured. Taichi only narrowed his eyes in response. "He's not doing so well when it comes to your blocks—"

"Senpai," Taichi interrupted, and something must be in gaze because Tendou's eyebrows immediately shot up. "I know," he said quietly.

Tendou's mouth curled up. He leaned back like an acrobat, his spine seemingly nonexistent, and bounced to his place.

Kenjirou raised an eyebrow at him from across the net.

Taichi shook his head.

Standing above him, Kenjirou spoke with feigned nonchalance, "he wasn't looking at you today."

That would be an understatement.

The second years were in charge of cleaning up tonight, and Kenjirou and him were put on net duty. After he helped Kenjirou up the step ladder, and the latter boy unhooked the net.

He jumped down to the floor. "You talked to him about the staring?"

"Nope," Taichi answered. He took the net from Kenjirou and began to fold it. "I tried to."

Kenjirou picked up the stepladder and walked beside him. "What happened?"

"I'm honestly not sure," he replied, "but I think Tendou-senpai is right."

Kenjirou looked around. "Good thing he wasn't here to hear that." He looked at Taichi carefully. "So do you…" he trailed off, giving Taichi _a look._

Taichi raised an eyebrow. "Do I…?" he echoed.

Kenjirou rolled his eyes. "Do you feel the same?"

Taichi stopped walking, having arrived at the other side of the court. He watched Kenjirou plant the step ladder next to him and reach up to unhook the other side of the net. "I'm." Pause. "Still thinking."

Kenjirou handed up the corner of the net and stepped back on the floor. He grabbed the step ladder again, and the two of them walked towards the storage room. "Is it really something you need to think hard about? Isn't needing to consider it a sign that you maybe don't…?"

Taichi adjusted the net he was hugging to his chest. "That's the thing," he said, "I think I do."

Kenjirou tripped on the clean, flat floor of the gym.

"Are you okay," Taichi said, mostly out of courtesy.

Kenjirou straightened up and glared at him. "You like him back?" He implored.

Taichi could feel his cheeks heat up, so he quickly entered the storage room and dumped the net in the corner. "And you like Tendou," he said.

"Taichi," Kenjirou sighed.

"Kenjirou."

Kenjirou gave him a look.

"I have a plan," Taichi said.

It was barely a plan. He was going to take a note out of Tendou's strategy and walk Goshiki to his dorm after practice. It was simple and no big deal. He wasn't nervous about it at all. He also definitely didn't notice when Goshiki slipped into the changing room, how he was already changed, and was currently talking to Tendou about something.

Nope.

"I haven't done anything yet, Kenjirou," he said, "Stop trying to ask me through your eyes." He pulled a white t-shirt over his head and changed into a pair of athletic shorts.

"Excuse me for being concerned," Kenjirou scoffed, folding his uniform neatly before placing it in his locker.

"You only have the right to be concerned after you talk to Tendou."

Kenjirou's eyes widened. "He can hear you—"

"Did someone say my name?" Tendou sang. "Kenjirou-kun, you changed so quickly."

"It's not hard to change, senpai," Kenjirou deadpanned. "Why don't you try it yourself."

Tendou titled his head. "Such sharp words," he sighed. "Kenjirou, when are you going to stop being a little hedgehog."

"Hedgehog?" Kenjirou spluttered.

Taichi shook his head. Regularly scheduled flirting.

He was putting his uniform inside his locker in a neat pile when he caught a glimpse of a familiar shape looking at him. It only took a second for him to decide.

"Goshiki," he said, turning to face the younger boy. He heard Kenjirou stop talking abruptly, no doubt surprised at Taichi's sudden confrontation.

Goshiki blinked once. "Yes, senpai?" he exclaimed.

 _God._ That intense attention. Taichi looked away for a second, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. "Can we talk?"

"Um!" Goshiki looked like he was about to bolt.

"Tendou, senpai," Kenjirou said loudly behind him. "If you're really trying to take care of your kouhai, how about getting everyone to practice on time?"

Tendou gave him a knowing grin as he walked past him.

Taichi twitched.

In front of him, Goshiki stepped towards the door.

"Goshiki," Taichi said, again.

"Yes?"

There was no right way to approach this, so he improvised.

"You've been staring at me a lot. For the past few weeks."

Goshiki's eyes widened. He quickly dipped his head. "I mean no disrespect, senpai! I was—I was just curious about you!"

Taichi narrowed his eyes. "Curious about what?"

Goshiki's head remained low as he spoke, ears burning red. "Um. Why coach made you a regular on the team this season."

Was that an insult or a compliment? Taichi swallowed. "Only that?" he asked.

Goshiki looked up at him and then nodded rapidly. "Yes," he confirmed.

Taichi’s stomach dropped. "And did you figure out why?"

Goshiki fidgeted, clearly embarrassed to have been caught and questioned like this. But when confronted directly like this, their future ace had never been one to back down. "Kawanishi-senpai is smart," he began. "You're very different from Tendou-senpai when you block, at least, when you first get to know a team in a match."

He bit his lip, looking into Taichi's eyes as if trying to gauge his reaction. Taichi nodded.

"You might not be as experienced as Tendou in guess blocking, but you're observant, and that intimidates others," Goshiki continued. "Tendou-senpai said whenever Coach switched you into a match last year, you always rattled the other team for a few plays. He called your style, 'omirous'?"

"Omnivorous," Taichi corrected automatically. _Something was happening in his chest._

"And you were a good pinch server too, he said!" Goshiki suddenly added. "You're also good at English, and you play the piano so well, and your favorite snack is the melon bun at school, and—" he stopped abruptly with a blink.

He looked at Taichi, and Taichi looked back. In the silence of the locker room, he now became aware of the rushing in his ears, the heat in his face, and Goshiki in front of him, just an arm's reach away. His heart was racing. That was the thing happening in his chest.

"And?"

Goshiki made a sound that resembled a whimper. It might be one out of frustration. "Senpai…is also very good looking and you look really cool when you actually try, and your smile is nice, so now I couldn't stop looking at you."

It was like a spike shot past his head—the shock of the movement, the silence after the ball hit the ground.

"Oh," Taichi breathed. His eyes roamed across Goshiki's face, across the tip of his nose, his determined eyebrows. He traced the edges of Goshiki's bangs, brushing over his flushed cheeks. Taichi wanted to push it back over his ear, but he shouldn't. He shouldn't. At least not yet, so he didn't. But he couldn't help himself but ask; he needed confirmation.

"Do you…"

The door near Goshiki slipped open. "Goshiki-kun, Kawanishi-kun," Reon said, a little sheepishly, "Coach's looking for you."

"O-okay! _"_ Goshiki immediately responded.

As they walked to the gym, with Reon a few steps ahead of them, Taichi quietly said, "I'll walk you to your dorm later.”

Goshiki looked at him in shock for a moment before nodding rapidly. "Okay!" he exclaimed, shoulders pulled up to his ears, his entire face so red that Taichi wanted to just close the distance between them—

He cleared his throat.

"Goshiki."

"Y-yes, Kawanishi-senpai?"

"Can you help me with something later?"

Taichi didn't think Goshiki knew how distracting he was. Or rather, he didn't think he could be so distracted by Goshiki. He had been paying attention to Goshiki more, ever since the other boy started staring. Yet, now he was acutely aware of _Goshiki_ and how his eyes would just find him sometimes.

He didn't think anything of it before. He chalked it up to retaliation for Goshiki's attention. But having realized his feelings for…having heard Goshiki's 'report' of himself…

"Great job, everyone!" Coach shouted. "Take an early night and get a good night's sleep. We've got a weekend match with Sendai University tomorrow. Be here at eight am."

"Yes, coach!"

Taichi met Goshiki's eyes. The younger boy nodded.

"Kenjirou," Taichi said, "I have to show you something in the storage room."

Kenjirou frowned. "Okay?" They made their way over to the storage room while the others started cleaning up. "Did you end up talking to Goshiki about—Hey!"

Taichi pushed Kenjirou into the storage room, hopefully into the stack of blue gym mats and not a wall, just as Goshiki and Tendou arrived.

"Perfect timing, Tendou-senpai," he said, and Tendou's eyebrows rose. "Kenjirou has something to say to you in the storage room."

"Oh, really—Ow!"

He closed the door on Kenjirou and Tendou. Leaning against the door, he closed his eyes and let out a breath. A few seconds later, he opened them again, and Goshiki was looking at him with confusion.

"Let's go."

"What was that?" Goshiki asked.

They walked into the courtyard, under the stars, to the other side of campus.

"Ideally, the end to my suffering," Taichi answered with a laugh. When he saw that Goshiki still looked perplexed, he explained, "Kenjirou and Tendou-senpai like each other, but neither of them wants to make the first move for some reason."

"Oh."

Taichi raised an eyebrow. "You didn't notice?"

"Tendou-senpai is really fond of Shirabu-senpai," Goshiki contemplated. "I didn't know Shirabu-senpai also returned his feelings."

Taichi chuckled. "Yeah, he does."

Goshiki stayed quiet for a moment. "Did Tendou-senpai know Shirabu-senpai also likes him?"

"I think he does, but I think he likes teasing Shirabu more."

Goshiki stepped in front of them, causing Taichi to stop.

"Then," he said, "then does Kawanishi-senpai know how I feel?"

The wind gently fluttered Goshiki's bangs. The glow of the moon brought light to his determined eyes, and Taichi was once again tempted to touch his face, run his thumb over those adorably flushed cheekbones, and maybe his lips too. "I think so," Taichi replied softly.

"Then why didn't you—"

"I didn't think you were the type to hesitate," Taichi said with a shrug. "I figured if you wanted to talk to me, you would."

Goshiki's shoulders rose to his red ears. "Senpai," he said earnestly, eyebrows knitted, "you're sometimes more intimidating than you think."

Taichi recalled one of the things Goshiki said about him before, how he intimidated the other team because he was observant.

"I didn't mean to intimidate you," he said.

After a few minutes, they arrived at Goshiki's room.

"Do you…want to come in, senpai?" Goshiki asked, fingers fiddling with his room key. "My roommate lives nearby, so he goes home for the weekends."

It was tempting, but Taichi shook his head.

"Goshiki," he said simply. "Do you like me?"

He expected a response in the form of words, but perhaps Goshiki finally got tired of his uncharacteristic inaction in these few weeks. He reached up and dragged Taichi down by the collar of his shirt, barely catching his mouth before kissing him sloppily.

His eyes were squeezed close, and Taichi's widened for a second, caught in the way Goshiki's eyelashes fanned his flushed cheeks. The tips of their noses pressed against each other, so if Goshiki leaned up even more, they would undoubtedly bump into each other painfully…

Taichi closed his eyes and cupped a hand at the base of Goshiki's neck. He pulled the younger boy closer so they wouldn't hurt themselves when he started kissing back, slow and open-mouthed. Goshiki let out a surprised sound caught in an excited gasp, and Taichi _liked it._

When they parted, Goshiki didn't waste any time.

"Kawanishi-senpai, would you like to go out with me?" Goshiki exclaimed.

Taichi smile.

He went to Goshiki's dorm at seven fifty the next morning. He knocked twice, and the door instantly flew open.

Goshiki, bangs tidy and shiny, stood behind the door frame. "Morning, senpai!"

Taichi leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Good morning."

They walked to the gym together, hands brushing against each other all the way there.

When warms up began, Taichi still felt Goshiki's gaze on him. But it was no longer the burning kind Goshiki used when he was still trying to decipher him. It was a tender gaze, one that Taichi now wholeheartedly returned. They kept track of each other's presence, and Taichi liked that. He liked Goshiki.

When the practice match started, Taichi looked at Goshiki stretching his arms.

After a second, Goshiki's gaze turned towards him. His eyes widened, and then he smiled.

Taichi smiled back.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


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